


The Santa they deserve

by AllumetteRouge (RedRaidingHood)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: DC Secret Santa '15, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5516858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRaidingHood/pseuds/AllumetteRouge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Christmas around the corner, Jason is faced with the poverty of his neighbourhood once again. He is determined to safe the holiday at least for the kids and make sure they get the Santa they deserve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Santa they deserve

**Author's Note:**

> Over the last month I had the pleasure to be [iwakepiesandbakethedead‘s](http://iwakepiesandbakethedead.tumblr.com) Secret Santa and this is what I wrote.  
> I hope you're all having great holidays with lots of fun and good food! Happy Holidays <3

Batman was looking uneasy. Like maybe he shouldn’t be here or any of that crap. Which was ridiculous, just like the idea of using some cheap Halloween costume. Not with those kids. They knew their Bat and they knew what withstood a bullet or a knife pretty well and mostly from experience, too.

“If you fuck this up, I swear I’m gonna shoot your toes off.”

“The boots are reinforced against–”

“–I don’t care. I wait for you in the shower if I have to.” Jason waved the stupid chuckle off. If the boss wasn’t taking this seriously, he would just have to make him. “Maybe I should’ve gotten Dickie, he likes brats well enough.”

Bruce was still lurking in the shadows, his arms crossed over the bat on his chest and something between a fond smile and wary confusion in his face that made him look like he had a seizure. “I’m a father by choice, if you remember.”

And yeah, he did. But a ward wasn’t a son, so he wasn’t allowed to pull that bullshit on _Jason_. “Just don’t go Brucie on them, don’t raise your voice like two octaves, you’d sound like the replacement on helium. Go with the usual growl. They’re used to that.” And with that, he opened the door, not hesitating another moment.

“Pedro,” the old woman greeted him with an exasperated smile. She didn’t even look surprised to see him, felt probably too old to be surprised anymore. She had a heart of gold and an iron will and no one knew her name - very possibly not even Oracle.

Jason smiled back at her, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek, switching to Gotham’s version of Spanish. “Hey, abuelita. How’s the hip? I heard you refused to see Dr Thompkins.”

“Ah, you know,” she hooked their arms together, leading Jason to the table where she had left her bags with the other ladies. “That young chicken means well, but we were always fine with a little time.” And a warm and dry place to sleep, Jason added unconsciously. He didn’t turn to watch Bruce’s reaction, didn’t turn even as one of the kids saw the man standing in the door, looking back to Jason with a suspicious glance and a slack jaw.

“You didn’t,” Arim said.

“Oh, yes I did.” Jason grinned, shoving his chin up a bit and helping abuelita to sit in her chair.

The soup kitchen went almost silent, and Jason revelled in every second. It wasn’t every day you could embarrass the Batman. Or at least show him off.

Father Vinney had stopped talking to the ladies with the usual sheepish grin, the Anderson kids had stopped their game of tag, and even Aileen’s little ones were peeking out from under the table. The place was always filled with noise and laughter around the holidays, but not today. Today was the day Jason had promised them a visitor. The day just a week after little Joaquim asked his mom why other kids went to the mall these days and Mrs Alvares had to tell her kid about Santa. Jason couldn’t get them Santa and he was sure the older kids would have pulled each and every mall-Santa apart in less than two minutes anyway. So those kids, he’d decided, would get something better. Those kids wouldn’t get some sweaty old man telling their parents what to buy. Those kids wouldn’t get the Santa they wanted, they would get the Santa they deserved. And they deserved only the best. They deserved their hero, their Batman.

That’s when Nellie crawled out from under the table, her eyes never leaving the awkward man in the doorway. Jason bent his head to watch her sticky little hand move to his sleeve and tug urgently. “Hey, hey, Peter,” she said, not one bit self-conscious as her voice filled the silence. “Does he know any tricks?”

Jason couldn’t help but laugh, and so did the others. Even Batman finally moved closer with a smile on his face, nodding towards them. “I sure know a few tricks, little one. Do you want to see some?”

Putting a hand over his mouth, Jason couldn’t stop smiling. He knew it would hurt his cheeks soon, but this was exactly what he had wanted, exactly what those kids deserved.

The other children came slowly closer, the older ones edging around to get Jason between them, but curious enough to want to know what was going on. Nellie had only eyes for Batman though. “Yes. Sure. Can you sit?”

“Yes, of course.” And because Bruce could be an indulgent motherfucker, he added. “I can fetch and stay, too.”

“And play dead?”

“Oh, definitely.”

Abuelita had crossed her spindly arm over her chest, smiling at Bruce and him like they were children themselves. Naughty children at that. Naughty children she just couldn’t punish because she adored them too much. “So where did you get him, Pedro? I hope you’re not just stopping by on your way to jail.”

Jason rubbed his neck, his smile still in full force. “Ah, you know. Just happened to be in the neighbourhood.”

The adults were breaking out the food now, setting down everything they’d brought on the table and some even put their hands in their bags for the rarities that were frowned upon as luxuries on any other day. Both, Jason and Bruce were seated at the table, only the most curious kids still keeping an eye on Batman as the meal was finally starting. There was bread and butter of course, and Father Vinney had gotten is hands on two small turkeys. The old ladies brought out their rarely shared cognac, spicing one of the coffee pots with it.

As each got an equal share, it was Nellie again who approached Batman with a paper plate laden with bread and potatoes and a slice of turkey. “Mrs Alvares has brought some cranberries, if you want,” she added as Bruce didn’t make a move to take the plate. He was looking at her almost bewildered before taking the food offered with a almost silent ‘thank you’. That was the moment Jason knew for a fact he wouldn’t be able to stop smiling until he fell asleep.

Those people never had much, but they were more than willing to share. Even with Batman, the guy that they saw less often than they deserved.

Jason grabbed a cup of spiked coffee, revelling in the warmth of it for a bit. He could hear abuelita and Father Vinney argue over his health, heard Arim choke on his own stolen sip of cognac. The younger kids were still crawling under the table, knocking against their feet. He only opened his eyes again when he felt one of them lean against his shin. A small, dark face with surprisingly blue eyes peeked at him from under the paper cloth. “He’s fake, right?” Joaquim whispered. “You didn’t really bring the Bat, did you?”

Next to him, Bruce had turned his back on them. Nellie was sitting in his lap by now, carefully showing off a tracer to the other kids. She was glowing with pride while he kept whispering how it worked in her ear so she could actually explain it.

“Yeah, that’s the Batman, kid.”

“No way,” Joaquim insisted. He crossed his arms on Jason’s knee. “They say he has claws and fangs and spanks you when you’re naughty.”

Chuckling, Jason took another sip. “We don’t need the Batman to spank you, Jo.”

“But he’s supposed to be scary!”

“I don’t know about that,” Jason said, putting his cup down and holding out a hand for the kid. Joaquim spurned his hand, but climbed in his lap anyway. “It’s Christmas and that’s not a time for monsters now, is it?”

The kid pushed himself against his chest, poking the plastic cup on the table. “Bad guys don’t care about Christmas, so good guys can’t. He has work to do, so if that’s the Batman, he should be out there, helping people.”

Arim was holding a Batarang by now, almost reverently, as if it would break the moment he gripped it too tight. Nellie was giggling and singing songs along with Aileen and the Anderson kids while Bruce was trying to keep up with the ridiculous and more and more improvised sounding lyrics. Their parents were happily chatting with each other, their kids now over their initial fear of their visitor, and Jason was pretty sure Batman was right where he belonged.

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” He jostled Joaquim a little. The kid was biting his lip, tearing on the tablecloth. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the big, bad Bat.”

“’m not.”

“Then talk to him.”

Joaquim squirmed. “I dunno what to say.”

His cheeks were numb by now from smiling, but he didn’t care. Everyone was having a good time and he was happy. He was allowed to be happy and it felt good. Right. “Tell you what,” he said. “Go and tell him about your favourite vigilante.”

Joaquim blinked. “You want me to tell him about the Hood?”

“Sure. Just go to him and talk about whatever you really, really like, trust me. He’ll love to listen.”

The kid nodded and Jason helped him back on the floor. Arim pulled his brother into a hug the moment he got close, introducing him to the Batman. The kids kept vying for attention, each laughing and talking with a smile on their face that mirrored Bruce’s.

The Batman wasn’t some stupid mall Santa the richer kids got. This was better. This was definitely where he belonged tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to comment and/or criticize, or drop me a line on [tumblr](http://allumetterouge.tumblr.com) if you have time <3


End file.
